Capital Equipment News February 2017

MOTOR GRADERS

The forward- mounted articulation design of CASE

graders allows the cab to be further back on the machine, giving operators a centred position while the gooseneck is articulated.

specs, coupled with the complexity of the machine controls, necessitates only those individuals with a high level of experience to sit in the operator’s seat. Yet, the workforce is changing. The scarcity of experienced, competent operators is creatinga void ina skill level that is becoming increasingly difficult to fill. As such, motor grader manufacturers are enhancing designs to improve ease of operation, while simultaneously enhancing overall machine performance. Cat revolution The most radical change in motor grader design was led by Caterpillar with its M-Series line-up which came with a revolutionary joystick control. Compared with the traditional levers, the joystick reduced hand and wrist action by 78%, improving driver comfort and control while enhancing the machine’s overall performance. Without a doubt, this was the biggest development in motor graders in decades. “Caterpillar introduced the industry exclusive joystick controls in 2007. Joysticks have proven to shorten the learning curve of motor grader operations by making the inputs simple and intuitive,” says Dan Gillen, product expert at Caterpillar. Gillen adds that in the 10 years since the introduction of the M

Series with joystick controls, Caterpillar has found that all applications can be performed efficiently and safely with joystick controls. “Globally we have accumulated over 115 million hours on M Series graders with joystick controls. Our customers have proven that there is no merit in having a steering wheel. However, for those customers who prefer a steering wheel, we offer the K Series with a steering wheel and level controls, available globally. Caterpillar believes in offering its customers a choice of machine controls that best fit their application and affordability,” says Gillen. “We continue to listen to our customers and their pain points to identify emerging product needs. For example, a recent innovation Caterpillar introduced to the motor grader market is the Stable Blade. This solves the old-age motor grader ‘bounce’ problem.” According to Gillen, all motor graders, regardless of brand, have a speed range where they start to experience a vertical bounce, causing scalloping of the grade. “In 2016, we introduced the Stable Blade and it detects when the bounce starts and automatically adjusts motor grader speed to stabilise the moldboard.” To date, Caterpillar has the world’s most extensive grader line-up. It has four K Series

models ranging from the 120K, weighing in at 13,9 t with 108 kW of power, to the 160K at 15,8 t and 154 kW. The M Series offers a broader range with 11 tandem models and four all-wheel drive models. Sizes range from the 15,9 t 120M2 delivering 108 kW of power to the 62,7 t 24M with 397 kW of power. “The models cover a broad range of customer needs, from the small contractor to the largest mining operations,” says Gillen, adding that the most popular Cat graders are the small and mid-sized models. Bell’s innovations While Bell Equipment has chosen to remain with the steering wheel “because South African operators are more familiar with this method of control”, Oldridge says the South African OEM has introduced several innovations geared at simplifying grader operation. For example, the main frame of Bell graders has been redesigned to include an arc that allows the operator better visibility of the blade to make operation easier. “We have also stuck with ‘antler’ controls as opposed to joystick controls because this is what operators are accustomed to. However, to simplify operation of the grader, the 8 forward and 8 reverse gears can be

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS FEBRUARY 2017 19